Plea from Jenny Seagrove and Carole Caplin

I am sure you know that we are now at a critical stage in the battle to stop the removal of a large number of vitamins and minerals from sale in this country, following the recent European Food Supplements Directive. Under the directive, a large number of safe nutrients and nutrient sources, including boron and selenium in the most bio-available forms, are excluded from the official approved list. Simply put this means they will be banned. In addition, these plans, designed to harmonise vitamin tablets across Europe, mean that the stronger dose vitamin tablets, on sale in Britain for more than 30 years are also likely to be banned.

We have been campaigning hard against the new rules together with consumers, manufacturers and supportive MPs from across the UK. Sadly, the Government has so far been unwilling to back us, and address the problem. It maintains that it still supports the Directive.

We are planning another push to try to get them to change their mind, with the help of a cross-Party group of MPs. Conservative MP Chris Grayling, Labour MP Kate Hoey, Liberal Democrat MP Michael Hancock, Welsh Nationalist MP Adam Price and Ulster Unionist MP Lady Sylvia Hermon have tabled a strongly-worded motion - Early Day Motion 414 - against the new laws, requiring the Government to renegotiate them with the European Commission. Its specific wording is:

'That this House regrets the passing of the Food Supplements Regulations (England) 2003; mandates the Government to use the UK Presidency to renegotiate the food Supplements Directive with the European Union; and indicates a willingness to repeal the regulations if the renegotiation does not reach a satisfactory compromise to protect the interests of consumers and manufacturers in the United Kingdom.'

The Opposition have a few days allocated to them and have agreed to allocate a haIf-day debate on one of those days, with a substantial vote at the end of it. This gives Parliament the chance to make this motion binding.

This is so important because it means we have a final opportunity to force the Government to act on our behalf. We need to put as much pressure as possible on MPs to back the motion when it is debated at Westminster during February.

Please, please ask your own MP to back us in our efforts. If they don't vote with us on this important motion, it is time to let them know in no uncertain terms that you and your friends will oppose them at the forthcoming General Election.

This is one of those rare moments when MPs should, in theory, listen to us - if they don't, they will lose our support at the Election. We must all take full advantage of this opportunity, so please make sure your local MP backs us in the battle to keep vitamins and minerals available for everyone.

Thank you

Jenny Seagrove, Carole Caplin January 2005

 

Tea Tree – The Australian treasure!

Originally from Australia and Tasmania tea - tree is a pale green oil extracted from the leaves and twigs of a tree commonly known as the swamp tree, which has white hanging flowers.

Discovered by the aborigine’s tea - tree was discovered centuries ago and used medicinally for treating sunburn and bacterial or fungal infections as well as being used as an antidote for venomous snakes bites. It was a real find for the aborigines. Years later tea - tree remains one of the most valuable and useful of all the essential oils and one, which I now find hard to imagine life without.

What makes tea - tree special is the strength of its properties and the fact that it is active against all infectious organisms, bacteria, fungi and viruses.

It is a powerful immunostimulant, which means it becomes active against any of these organisms when they attack us.

I have previously sung the praises of tea - tree in fighting the common cold and similar viruses and I continue to be amazed at its strength when attacking germs in the nose and throat. When inhaled or gargled at the first signs of a cold it can really stop it dead in its tracks and even at a later stage, it can lessen the effects of a cold. You also get the added benefit of an anti – bacterial mouth wash when gargling, which can help, prevent gum disease. Due to its action on the immune system, it is useful for illnesses such as glandular fever and particularly helpful in recovery.

The benefits of tea – tree in skin care are now widely accepted especially for acne and oily skin. It dries up spots and helps to reduce cold sores.

Long standing viral skin infections such as warts and verrucas can be eradicated by tea – tree when used every day and as an anti - fungal oil it will help to kill off athlete’s foot and ringworm as well as candida and thrush.

Tea - tree is one of the most commonly used items in my first aid cupboard, easy to use and so valuable in the fight against winter germs I have never found anything so effective. It can be used domestically to clean surfaces and on animals to kill fleas. Aromatherapists can suggest the use of tea tree prior to hospital treatments as it is effective against many hospital viruses. As a preventative measure, I would recommend its use whenever you have been in a position where germs are rife.

For more advice on the use of aromatherapy oils, contact Andrea Bellamy - Complementary Therapist MHFS IIHHT at Kreative Kutz St Peters Tel 01843 867546.

click here to purchase aromatherapy oils

Bioforce have brought out a few new products recently, including Bio Snacky Organic Red Clover seeds and Broccoli seeds for sprouting, and a Po Ho oil inhaler, complete with a bottle of Po Ho oil for just £9.99. The oil contains a mixture of purely natural essential oils of Japanese peppermint, Spanish eucalyptus, juniper, cumin and fennel, and can be purchased without the inhaler for just £3.95. Perfect for clearing the head after all those winter bugs.

Natura 100% organic toiletries (except for water and plant based emulsifiers) are the best, as far as I am concerned. We have their shampoos, conditioner, cleansers, toners, body lotions, foam baths, shower gels, moisturisers and masks. The whole range is made using plant based emulsifiers and natural essential oils and is free of gmo, parabens, sls, als, animal testing, animal ingredients and petroleum oil bases.
Cinnamon capsules, may help maintain healthy blood sugar levels.

Thank you for your letters of support last year. We sent them all with our application for full planning permission to the Council, and succeeded in obtaining everything we asked for! We are no longer “temporary”, we are here to stay! We are also now allowed to stay open from 10am-5pm on Saturdays!

As we are becoming busier now, with more customers coming into the shop as well as more and more orders from all over the world from our website, we have taken on more staff, and what a great team we have!

Amanda is well known to most of you as she has helped out here right from the start. She was Sales Assistant of the Year for the chain of Health Shops she and I both used to work for, and her knowledge of products is excellent!

Pam is our voluntary member of staff. She advises our customers on dairy free and wheat free diets and cooking. She is available to help you most Wednesdays between 11.30 am and 2.30 pm.

Jane joined us at the beginning of November. She also used to work for the same chain of Health Stores as Amanda and I, and was, indeed, Manager of their Ashford branch for some time!

Allison joined us in January 2005. She has a great interest in our products and knows quite a bit about them already, having been a regular customer of ours since we opened.

Lanny (short for Lanita) will be joining us in February 2005 and is keen to get started and to learn about the products.

The five members of staff above and myself are all beginning the Health Food Institute’s series of training courses. This is to update us all with the latest information we need to offer you the best service available at all times!

We also have Ann, who helps us out with a bit of cleaning, filling up and packing website orders.

All our staff only do a few hours each at the moment, on the days when we are busy and have deliveries (just in case you thought we were THAT busy that we had to take them all on full-time. There wouldn’t be any room for customers!).

We are in the process of drawing up plans for an extension to the end of the shop to give us a little more space and facilities for the staff. I expect it will take some time to get the drawings approved by the Planning Department and to actually get it built.
We had intended to have a decent sized fridge and a freezer in it, when it’s built, among other things, but an offer came up on a freezer which I couldn’t refuse, so it’s in the corner of the shop now! It currently contains an excellent range of gluten and wheat free rolls, pizzas, apricot or chocolate muffins, and more, as well as a few vegetarian sausages, pies, Quorn fillets, Swedish Glace dairy free ice creams, etc. Please let us know what you would like us to stock in it (we cannot sell frozen goods via our website or mail order).

I must apologise for an error in the last issue. On the back page “And Finally…” section, I copied from the issue before that so that I had the same format, then started changing them to different supplements. However, I didn’t do it properly. It was meant to say that Devil’s Claw is a good anti-inflammatory but “Migraine attacks” got left on the end of it from the previous issue’s one about Feverfew. Ginkgo was obviously repeated for those who couldn’t remember what it was for from the previous issue…….. JULIET

Did you know that

Bach Flower Remedy Rock Rose can help those who suffer with panick attacks

Soya Isoflavones help to balance hormones and many women find they are helpful for menopausal symptoms

Luffa is excellent for allergies and nasal and sinus congestion

Glucosamine Gel Patches can be applied to areas to relieve joint pain

Vegetarian Glucosamine is now available to take, made by Health Perception, and may help with joint pain.

Cramp Bark can help relieve period pains.